Date of Conferral
6-18-2025
Degree
Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)
School
Management
Advisor
Kim Critchlow
Abstract
Ineffective retention strategies for nursing home staff can negatively affect the continuity of patient care, employee morale, and patient outcomes. Nursing home leaders who struggle to implement changes and increase staff retention and quality of patient care are at high risk of business instability. Grounded in Greenleaf’s servant leadership conceptualization and Kotter’s eight-step change model, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore strategies nursing home leaders use to implement change, retain staff, and enhance the quality of patient care. Data sources consisted of semistructured interviews, public websites, and current and archival public documents. Thematic analysis yielded five themes: (a) leadership visibility and strategic involvement, (b) staff engagement, (c) professional development and recognition, (d) optimized resources and incentives, and (e) data-driven quality improvement and accountability. A key recommendation is for nursing home leaders to demonstrate empathy, emotional intelligence, and long-term investment in staff to create environments that support retention and high-quality care. The project has implications for positive social change in that it highlights the value of being empathetic to and inclusive of the nursing staff when implementing responsible change. Servant leadership can potentially increase staff retention, which may lead to better health outcomes and quality of life for residents in nursing homes and foster dignity and respect for older adults in the community in which the nursing home is situated.
Recommended Citation
Chu, Evaristus C., "Effective Strategies Nursing Home Leaders Use to Implement Changes and Increase Staff Retention and the Quality of Patient Care" (2025). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 17983.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/17983
